Did I Receive A SPG Amex Business Card Retention Offer

I was offered a statement credit for my loyalty not a credit for my annual fee. This seemed like a play on words to me but it really made no difference either way.

The annual fee recently posted once again and it was time to make a call to see what Amex could do about my annual fee.

I called in and mentioned that I was thinking of closing my account to the rep. In previous years, the response would typically be- Why? We’d hate to see you go. You’ve been with us so long… Maybe they’d even go over all of the benefits of being a cardmember.

Well this time, all I got was sure, I can do that…

I then mentioned how I didn’t want to pay the fee as the rep was telling me to say yes so she could go ahead and close my account.

Before saying yes I asked if there were any offers to waive the fee or something along those lines.

I got a cold no, all cards come with an annual fee due to benefits that come with the card.

I debated calling back or asking for a retention line but then decided I’d actually rather close the card and reopen a new Amex SPG Business card in the future to get the signup bonus again.

In the end, the most surprising thing was how little the rep cared that I wanted to close my account. Not a question to find out why or any try to get me to change my mind…

How has your experience been recently with getting retention offers from American Express?

Charles McCool- It seems like the banks don’t seem to care much about retaining cardholders these days. I figured I could re-apply for the SPG Biz in a year or so, which makes it no real loss. The big debate comes when my personal card fee posts!

I’ve had the business card for 5 years. Every year I have gotten an offer not to cancel. It has always been SPG points never to waive the fee, which is fine with me as I value SPG points at 2.5 cents each and I’ve always received more value in retention points vs. paying the annual fee.

I will note, this year the rep. wasn’t very forthcoming in extending any retention points. I called back and asked to speak with a supervisor and was offered 7K points. In the end, I come out way ahead:

I pushed and pushed and got $25 on SPG Biz. Like the previous post said, I’ve tried several cards from amex, chase, and citi, and, despite a good deal of spend, have been offered very little to stay. Times they are a changin